1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for optimizing the processing speed of a microprocessor chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
A well known measure of the performance of a processor chip is the frequency at which the processor chip operates. Processor chips which operate at a higher clock frequency are capable of processing more information in a shorter time than equivalent processor chips which operate at a lower clock frequency. Thus, it is desirable to run a processor chip at the maximum clock frequency which that particular processor chip can operate without causing the processor to operate incorrectly due to internal delays, thermal destruction of the processor, or a degradation of performance due to thermally induced automatic shutdown.
In many cases, processor chips are implemented within a computer system to operate at a clock frequency which is significantly lower than the maximum operational frequency that the processor can sustain without exhibiting the above-mentioned failures or protective shutdown. This may happen for many reasons. For example, because the processor chips are typically categorized into two or three processing speed categories (e.g., 66 MHz, 100 MHz, etc.), many processor chips which are actually capable of running at higher clock rates than the standard clock rate categories are simply set to a lower clock rate in order to conform to the clock rate category for a given computer. Furthermore, processing chip manufacturers sometimes produce an excess of chips which are capable of operating at or above one processing speed class (e.g., 100 Mhz), but due to corporate marketing plans, the manufacturer will artificially market the processor at a slower speed class, keeping speeds down until market pressures demand the higher speed class. Finally, sometimes processing chips are only tested under low voltage conditions. As is well known in the art, when a higher source voltage is applied to a microprocessor chip, this typically acts to increase the maximum clock rate at which the processing chip is capable of operating. This is because the higher voltage results in a reduction of the capacitive time delays throughout the processor circuitry. However, due to thermal considerations, power supply needs and ultimately voltage induced semiconductor breakdown, the source voltage is often kept low on many processing chips. Thus, some processing chips which are capable of running at much higher clock rates are sometimes classified within a slower clock rate category due to the circumstances under which the test was carried out.
One known way of enhancing the performance of a processor is to disable the motherboard clock and to add a higher frequency clock source. However, such an implementation usually requires that all of the system components on the motherboard (e.g., the memory, the motherboard bus, the input/output units, etc.) operate at the increased clock rate. Therefore, such an embodiment cannot be used to improve performance if one of the system components is incapable of operating at the higher clock rate.
Thus, in order to optimize the performance of an individual processing chip, it would be desirable if an apparatus and method for enhancing the clock rate performance of a processor chip could be implemented by after-market manufacturers or individual PC owners.